Disclaimer: Much to the authors delight, and to my disappointment, I do not own Alex Rider.

The cheery ring of the doorbell forced him to open his eyes. Alex wanted nothing more than to just lay his head back down. Whoever wanted to talk to him could go to hell.

His head fell forward to rest on his arms--and the doorbell rang again.

This time someone knocked impatiently as well.

The sound awoke Timothy, and he started crying. Alex's fists clenched and his eyes clenched shut. It had taken him forever to get Timothy to sleep. Sitting up, Alex stood and wiped his tired eyes.

"Timothy, please don't cry," he whispered as he picked up the child.

The baby wailed as someone rang the doorbell for a third time. "I'll make them go away," he promised and kissed the little boy's head. Timothy was only five months old, but he already had more expressions to show his displeasure then Alex had a name for.

A small, pouty mouth wobbled pitifully, and Alex tucked Timothy's head into his neck, and the baby's cries seemed to lessen at the familiar, protective hold.

Answering the door with a firm frown on his face, Alex hoped to scare away whomever had bothered him. He did not get a lot of sleep, neither did Timothy, and to have the little they did have interrupted….needless to say, Alex was not pleased.

"Hey, Cub."

Wolf seemed out of place on his doorstep with his tan and dark features in the cool, bleak weather. Alex was positive he, himself, had not seen the sun in at least a week.

Alex stared for a moment. "Wolf, hey…come in," he offered confusedly. He had not seen Wolf in over a year…or at least not since his own wedding.

"Sorry for dropping in without calling…I just got back from a job in the states. Wish I had to go to Florida more often," Wolf said. "Kind of weird to go from sunshine and sunburn to rain and long-sleeved shirts in two days."

Alex nodded politely and moved aside from the doorway. Timothy had turned his head to stare at the strange man in the doorway, and Wolf grinned at him.

When the baby immediately started to cry again, Wolf's smile turned to a frown. "Yep, he's just like you," he said.

Alex only managed a half hearted smile. "He's tired and irritable – you coming and trying to knock down my door doesn't help," he explained and showed Wolf into the living room. He tried not to notice the way Wolf's eyes took in every detail of the house. The dirty bottles, laundry and trash lay scattered around the house.

"Sorry about the house," Alex muttered as he swept the blankets and pillows off the couch. He had been sleeping there for what seemed like forever and the blankets were in need of a good cleaning.

Wolf shrugged at Alex's apology, "I know how it is with kids – babysat Eagle's brats," he said with a dry chuckle. "Who would have thought he'd ever be mature enough to have kids, and three of them at that!"

Wolf sat on the couch Alex had cleared off and made no comment on the bed-covers or the simple cot that stood near the end of the couch. Still holding Timothy, Alex watched as Wolf took in his house with a slightly curious expression. He had never seen his home, and Alex could not blame him for being interested.

Cathy had quite the eye for design. Copies of her favorite pictures hung from almost every wall, the furniture had all been picked by her – although she had asked for Alex's help when it came to their bedroom furniture. "I don't want you to hate the very furniture you sleep in, it would be like that show where that guy got his dead grandmother's furniture – It had all those cherubs carved into the wood work, remember?" She had then started laughing. Alex'd had no idea what show she was talking about, but he'd smiled, anyway.

Alex blinked and turned away from those memories. Timothy gave a shuddering sigh as his crying finally stopped.

Babies had a way of knowing what their parents felt – which was probably why Timothy had not been happy in a quite a long time.

"How's Snake?" Alex asked. In truth, he had not thought about his unit in ages – he just needed something to say. He was wondering what Wolf wanted, but he did not want to appear rude by demanding to know.

"He's working hard. Damian wants to go to Medical School, and Marian wants to send Lillian to public school," he said with a grin. "Damian is a smart kid though, and he deserves to go." Alex nodded and listened as Timothy sniffled.

He remembered that Damian was Snake's oldest child who shared his father's talent of healing. "What about Fox?"

"Oh, he's off having an exciting adventure in some county I can't pronounce. Meanwhile, us old men stay as close to home as possible – I thought he'd be the first one married, to tell you the truth."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "You can talk about yourself being old. I'm too busy to be old."

Wolf snorted, "Then why does it feel so weird to call you Cub? I think I should call you Bear instead."

Alex made no comment, and sat on the arm of his favorite chair. His legs were tired of walking, and if he was not constantly moving, then Timothy would squirm.

Looking down, Alex saw that his son was asleep again. His strawberry blond hair was soft under Alex's gentle hand as he brushed the thin locks. Hoping he slept for a while, Alex looked back up at Wolf.

The man was watching him closely and Alex felt defensive. Holding Timothy closer, he waited for Wolf speak.

"I heard about Catherine."

There it was, he finally said it. Alex focused on the patterned, periwinkle carpet under his feet…it was something else Cathy had picked out. Quickly looking away, Alex accidentally caught Wolf's eye.

The happiness from earlier now seemed fake. Wolf had just been trying to bring the subject up without seeming nosey.

And he's not being nosey, Alex thought with a sigh. Wolf was just a concerned friend who had come to show – what exactly? Support or maybe friendship? Or maybe Wolf's new fiancé had bullied him into coming….

Alex was not sure why he was here, but it did feel nice to see a familiar face.

"I guess you know what happened then?"

Wolf nodded and looked at his feet. Alex bit his lip and carefully moved to sit in the chair, his back aching from sitting on the arm of the chair.

When Timothy did not wake, he carefully moved his son to a more comfortable position. Timothy's chin rested on Alex's shoulder as he slept on.

"I didn't really believe it when they told me," Alex said reluctantly. "They told me Ian, my uncle, had died in a car crash as well, and I was right about not believing it, then. They had to – show me, I mean I had to…see her first before I could even…."

He stopped and gauged Wolf's reaction, he was quietly listening, so Alex continued.

"After that I couldn't ignore the truth. I wanted to, you know, I actually hoped that the body they showed me was someone else's, and – that somehow Scorpia was coming after me again and had her trapped somewhere. I even waited for a bloody letter from them. Some sort of ransom note would come to me, I was positive of it. I think all that work for MI6 made me paranoid." He tried to smile.

Wolf did not move or speak. Alex was glad he kept quiet. He had not talked to anyone about this, and now that he started, he could not seem to stop.

"Two weeks after the funeral, MI6 wanted me back. The trainer they had hired to do my job must have sucked. You know what I do right?"

Wolf nodded. "You teach a weapons class, and train the SAS soldiers."

Alex nodded. "They wanted me back and I had no good excuse not to go. I got a babysitter for Timothy and had everything planned out. But when I came back from work and she wasn't here to greet me – I think that's when it finally sunk in. Cathy used to come to the door with Timothy when I got home, every day. I knew that when I walked in the door, they'd be waiting. It made me feel appreciated and…all that mushy stuff."

Alex went quiet. Timothy made a sound and Alex immediately started rubbing his hand up and down the small back. He was not sure why he was telling Wolf all this. The man did not want to hear it, he was probably embarrassed for Alex's sake – but he had not complained or squirmed uncomfortably.

He had just let him talk--and that was something Alex needed right now.

Timothy smacked his lips in his sleep and brought Alex's attention to him. "He misses his mum," Alex whispered. He blinked quickly and had to look away--but everywhere he looked he saw something that reminded him of her. "He's only five months old, so he doesn't ask for mummy or anything like that, but…you can tell he knows that she's gone."

Alex looked up at Wolf. "Does that make any sense?" Wolf nodded and Alex was glad the man understood, or at least he pretended to.

"Timothy babbles a lot…or he used to before the…accident. I lost my job, did I tell you?" Wolf shook his head. He hadn't heard anything from Alex in months – that was one reason he'd come. He even had to hear that Catherine died from one of the men Alex trained. They were worried about him. Now Wolf could see why.

"I couldn't find any other babysitters for Timothy after a week or so. He cried too much they said. It – kind of made me angry at them. Of course he is going to cry, his mum is gone – what baby wouldn't cry?"

Pausing, Alex stood up to lay Timothy in the cot. Sitting back down a moment later, he clasped his hands together to try to chase away the chill the suddenly grabbed him.

"Blunt was always a cold hearted bastard," Alex muttered and Wolf nodded. "Jones wasn't much better. I told Blunt I could come back, and that I just had to get things straightened out. A housekeeper is a possibility, but I want to spend time with him," Alex's eyes went over to the cot.

"I think my uncle Ian mostly stayed home until I turned seven, then he hired Jack and went back to work. I told Blunt that I needed to be with him, just until he got back to normal. Blunt was firm, said if I couldn't do my job then what was the use in having me. I never knew he could speak for himself," Alex said with a snort. "I left the next day, told them I quit. A lot of those younger people I trained weren't happy with him," he said with a smile.

Wolf frowned, "Why can't Cathy's mum or dad help? You haven't mentioned them-"

He stopped talking, as Alex's face had darkened.

The week old beard on his face gave him a scruffy appearance that was backed up by the dark circles under his eyes. Alex's eyes used to be lively – Wolf had noticed the intelligence in those eyes way back in Brecon Beacon. Now, Alex's eyes were bleak with fatigue and turmoil.

"Cathy's dad died a week after she told them we were getting married. Caroline, Cathy's mum, blamed me for that I think…I'll probably never know why, but they didn't like me. Didn't think I was good enough for their daughter – and I have to admit that I think Cathy could have definitely found someone better than me." Alex smiled softly. "I'm glad she didn't, though."

Wolf stared at his hands, and more importantly, at the ring on his finger. He understood exactly what Alex meant. He'd seen the two of them together. Catherine was laughter and slyness, she was fun to be around and Wolf had immediately liked her. Not only because she made Alex smile (which was something Wolf had not seen a lot), but she also had kept Alex from doing anything stupid.

Once Alex had met her, he had stopped spying and Blunt had offered him the job of teaching and training new people that worked at MI6. He had stopped putting his life in danger, because he had someone that loved him.

She was everything that Alex needed, and now she was gone.

Wolf cleared his throat to rid himself of the tight feeling. "What about Timothy? Caroline would come over and help you because of him, wouldn't she?"

Alex was already shaking his head. "I haven't seen her since the funeral."

Alex met Wolf's eyes. "You know, she looked at me during the funeral and her face - she hates me Wolf. Caroline won't offer to help me, and I'm not sure I'd want my son around someone who hates me anyway."

"You need help Alex."

"I know!" Alex growled sharply. The desperation on his face was quickly hidden by his hands as he rubbed his face. "I'm sorry," he sighed.

Wolf nodded. Over in the cot, Timothy stirred anxiously. Alex looked at the cot warily. "God, I hope he doesn't wake up."

After a few moments of silence, Alex and Wolf looked at each other. "Let's go to the kitchen," Alex suggested, and Wolf nodded his agreement.

Sitting at the table, Wolf watched as Alex put some water on to boil. "Water is about the only thing I can cook," he said with an apologetic smile to his visitor.

Wolf laughed, "I hear you, if I didn't have Jennifer I would have starved to death by now."

"When's your wedding anyway?"

Wolf shrugged and laughed in exasperation, "I have no bloody idea! She keeps changing the date so all her family can come. I'll give you a call when she's made a firm decision."

Alex nodded and brought the tea over.

"Are you going to keep working with SAS?"

"Yeah. It's the only thing I know how to do – well, that and cars, but I imagine it would be rather awkward going from guns and bullet wounds to a car garage," he said, with a laugh.

Alex smiled at him and pushed a tea cup towards him along with the sugar container. "Jennifer doesn't mind your work?"

Wolf shrugged as he put the second teaspoon of sugar into his cup. "I don't think so, not too much at least. Although every time I go off, she does tell me that if I get hurt she'll kill me."

"She sounds…nice." Wolf laughed at Alex's amused expression and drank his tea in a few gulps.

"She's great. We're looking for a house closer to London. She wants to be near her sister." Wolf sighed.

"You don't like her?"

"No, her sister is great – but I don't want to see her every day of my life."

Alex sipped his tea. "Put a good lock on the door, you'll be fine."

Wolf shrugged – and that's when Timothy started crying. Alex frowned sadly and got up to get the baby. When he came back into the kitchen, Wolf was staring at his glass with unseeing eyes.

"Wolf?"

The man looked at him. "Sorry, just thinking."

Timothy quieted slightly at the unfamiliar voice. "Bla?" he said and stared at Wolf.

Alex's lips twitched. Wolf seemed calm under the gaze of the baby's hazel eyes.

"He doesn't talk that much, if you can call that talking," he said and set Timothy on the floor with a brightly coloured toy he'd grabbed from the table.

Alex went to fetch more hot water for their tea. Timothy watched him go and then turned back to watch the stranger. Wolf imagined Alex's kid had not seen that many people in a while. Alex's protectiveness was obvious, and he could not blame him.

Timothy was Alex's only link to his wife, as his mother-in-law did not want anything to do with him.

That needed to change, Wolf thought.

"Blag, bla, bla!" Timothy had moved over to Wolf's boots and was contentedly tugging at the laces. Wolf felt Alex watching his warily and tried to appear happy with the child at his feet.

"I can put him in his play pen?" Alex offered as he brought the tea pot back over to the table.

"No, I don't mind," Wolf said truthfully. "…he looks a lot like Catherine. Got your nose though."

Alex looked at the small nose and had to agree. Besides the size of it, they did share the same nose. "Cathy's hair was darker, but he has her eyes. I hope they stay that way."

Wolf watched as Alex got a glassy look in his eyes. It was awkward knowing that he was grieving and not knowing how to help. Alex did not have many friends, most of them were older people that had grown to respect him when he had spied. The other friends lived too far away – or were just not good friends.

Those were the only reasons Wolf could think of to explain why Alex did not have someone's support. He was not the person to help. Wolf liked Alex, he was a good person going through a hard time. But Wolf could not give him the help he needed.

He did have an idea as to who could though.

Timothy tugged forcefully at Wolf's shoes. He had undone the laces and had a thinking expression on his round face. "Abloooga!" He said to Wolf with a serious voice.

"Abloooga, indeed."

Alex smiled and after asking, and receiving, permission, Wolf picked Timothy up.

………………………………................

Wolf had arrived at Alex's home near three in the afternoon. By the time they were done having tea, and trying to keep the conversation light the entire time, it was dark.

"Jennifer knew I'd be gone for a while, would it be okay if I stayed the night?" Wolf asked. "It's a six hour drive back."

"I don't mind. We have an extra room upstairs you can have."

Truthfully, Wolf had thought he'd be sleeping on the couch, and a bed sounded a lot better.

Hours later, Wolf awoke to the sounds of Timothy crying. It was three in the morning, or so said the alarm clock sitting on his bedside table. He sighed and got up. Walking wobbly down the stairs, he found Timothy standing up in his cot.

Alex was sound asleep on the couch and did not look like he needed to be woken. He was just as torn by his wife's death as his son - if not more. The child would get better – it was Alex that Wolf was worried about.

Timothy saw him about the same time that Wolf reached the bottom of the steps.

Carefully walking to the crib, Wolf smiled non-threateningly at the Ian. "Hey, there, you shouldn't cry like that. Your daddy needs his sleep," Wolf commented softly.

The crying had stopped, but dry sniffles still came from the red-eyed boy. Wolf winced at the bogey nose, but he carefully picked the child up.

Timothy seemed to have gotten over his fear of Wolf. That was the beauty of shoelaces.

The round face still seemed sad, though. Timothy laid his head down on Wolf's shoulder. "Oh, shit," Wolf moaned softly as he felt his heart break a little. "Don't go using that cute stuff on me. I'm going to try and help your daddy, okay? No need to bring out the big guns."

Timothy said nothing and Wolf walked him to the bathroom so he could dry the boy's snotty nose.

When they were back in the living room, Wolf sat on the chair and put Timothy in his lap. Examining Alex, Wolf wondered why he didn't sleep in his own bed.

It had to be more comfortable then the couch.

Not against snooping some, Wolf whispered into Timothy's ear, "You want to go exploring?" Timothy looked at him and started to gabble something loudly. Wolf hurriedly took him out of the room so as not to wake Alex.

They searched the house together until Wolf found the bedroom. The door was firmly shut, but Wolf opened it anyway.

The furniture was made from cherry wood, it was nicely furnished and pictures of Alex, Catherine, and Timothy decorated the mantelpiece of a fireplace. The carpet was dyed in varying warm colors, and all together, it was a very nice place.

Wolf took in the smaller details. Some books leaned up against one side of the bed – he remembered that Catherine was a big reader. The bookmark that was partially hidden under the dresser helped prove that. There were two baby toys in the middle of the bed and a fleece blanket decorated with penguins was laid out on the floor.

Timothy made cooing sounds and Wolf looked down to see his hazel eyes firmly attached to the toys on the bed. Shifting the boy to his other arm, Wolf continued his observation.

A pink bathrobe was thrown carelessly over a chair and a blue one hung from a bedpost. Anyone not knowing the situation would think this was the happy bedroom of two parents with a new baby. They would be right if it was three months earlier.

Wolf did not think Alex had been in here since his wife died. There were still signs of Catherine all over the room.

Suddenly feeling like he had meddled in something that was not his business, Wolf backtracked and left the room.

Timothy pouted because of the left behind toys but Wolf did not want to destroy the sense of normality in the room by taking something from it. If Alex wanted to leave the room the way it was, then he had his reasons for doing so.

"Will you go back to sleep now?" Wolf asked Timothy.

Of course, he received no answer and so he put the boy back in the cot. did not stand up or whine, so Wolf pulled the soft blankets up and went back to his room.

He had to take care of some…business, tomorrow.

Authors Note: Thank you for your help Nyxie! Timothy Galen Rider--took me forever to come up what that name, heh. After changing it five times, I finally chose the one I liked. Thank you for voting in my name poll, even though I did not use the winner. I'm not sure I got the emotions right, I tried, I really did. So I'm hoping it was an enjoyably read, but if It was not--then I'll just have to try harder next time. =) Please review!